Current Scientific Approaches to Decision Making in Complex Systems. 3. Volume 2. Conference Position Papers

1980 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon Pask
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Complex Systems

scholarly journals Integrating Value Considerations in the Decision Making for the Design of Biorefineries

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 2927-2955
Author(s):  
Mar Palmeros Parada ◽  
Lotte Asveld ◽  
Patricia Osseweijer ◽  
John Alexander Posada
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Complex Systems ◽  
Research And Development ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Design Decision ◽  
Value Sensitive Design ◽  
Design Practice ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Design Alternatives ◽  
Biobased Production

AbstractBiobased production has been promoted as a sustainable alternative to fossil resources. However, controversies over its impact on sustainability highlight societal concerns, value tensions and uncertainties that have not been taken into account during its development. In this work, the consideration of stakeholders’ values in a biorefinery design project is investigated. Value sensitive design (VSD) is a promising approach to the design of technologies with consideration of stakeholders’ values, however, it is not directly applicable for complex systems like biorefineries. Therefore, some elements of VSD, such as the identification of relevant values and their connection to a technology’s features, are brought into biorefinery design practice. Midstream modulation (MM), an approach to promoting the consideration of societal aspects during research and development activities, is applied to promote reflection and value considerations during the design decision making. As result, it is shown that MM interventions during the design process led to new design alternatives in support of stakeholders' values, and allowed to recognize and respond to emerging value tensions within the scope of the project. In this way, the present work shows a novel approach for the technical investigation of VSD, especially for biorefineries. Also, based on this work it is argued that not only reflection, but also flexibility and openness are important for the application of VSD in the context of biorefinery design.

scholarly journals SELF-ORGANIZATION IN COMPLEX SYSTEMS AS DECISION MAKING

2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (03n04) ◽  
pp. 1450016 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. I. YUKALOV ◽  
D. SORNETTE
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Complex Systems ◽  
Mathematical Formulation ◽  
Conditional Entropy ◽  
Self Organization ◽  
Entropy Maximization ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Macroscopic States ◽  
System States ◽  
Statistical Systems

The idea is advanced that self-organization in complex systems can be treated as decision making (as it is performed by humans) and, vice versa, decision making is nothing but a kind of self-organization in the decision maker nervous systems. A mathematical formulation is suggested based on the definition of probabilities of system states, whose particular cases characterize the probabilities of structures, patterns, scenarios, or prospects. In this general framework, it is shown that the mathematical structures of self-organization and of decision making are identical. This makes it clear how self-organization can be seen as an endogenous decision making process and, reciprocally, decision making occurs via an endogenous self-organization. The approach is illustrated by phase transitions in large statistical systems, crossovers in small statistical systems, evolutions and revolutions in social and biological systems, structural self-organization in dynamical systems, and by the probabilistic formulation of classical and behavioral decision theories. In all these cases, self-organization is described as the process of evaluating the probabilities of macroscopic states or prospects in the search for a state with the largest probability. The general way of deriving the probability measure for classical systems is the principle of minimal information, that is, the conditional entropy maximization under given constraints. Behavioral biases of decision makers can be characterized in the same way as analogous to quantum fluctuations in natural systems.

Diagnosis and Evaluation

2017 ◽  
pp. 138-181
Author(s):  
Yury N. Kovalyov
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Complex Systems ◽  
Human Activity ◽  
Model Theory ◽  
Human Factor ◽  
Open Systems ◽  
Wave Model ◽  
Mathematical Apparatus ◽  
Accident Rate ◽  
Technical Systems

The accident free work of complex systems depends of the compatibility of their components. When it comes to socio-technical, this means the compatibility of the human factor with the environment and equipment, organized through a specific interface. At the same time, there is a certain contradiction: the modeling and design of equipment and interface is based on a classical mathematical apparatus, whereas its use for understanding human activity is confronted with the non-formalizability of many aspects of perception and decision-making. Elimination of this contradiction on the basis of the modeling apparatus, equally suitable for modeling all components of socio-technical systems, will open the way to improving the compatibility of components and reducing the accident rate. Therefore, the development of such a mathematical apparatus is an important problem. In this chapter is presented the modelling instrument, which is adequate to the composite open systems properties – axiomatic wave model, theory of self-organization, practical examples.

Ethics for Complex Systems

2021 ◽  
pp. 62-82
Author(s):  
James Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Complex Systems ◽  
Social Norms ◽  
Real World ◽  
External Validity ◽  
Thought Experiments ◽  
Social Processes ◽  
Causal Models ◽  
Government Action ◽  
Evidence Collection

This chapter argues that the scale of the challenge posed by external validity requires a similarly sizeable response. Not only should practitioners approach evidence collection and interventions in policy differently, but philosophers should also change the way they conceive of ethics. The default should no longer be to start from simplistic causal models or thought experiments, while being dimly aware that these approaches will exclude some features that would be relevant for real-world decision-making. Rather, both practitioners and philosophers should start from the premise that social processes are complex systems. Moreover, complex systems are in important aspects performative: for example, what counts as a breach of trust, or a violation of privacy, is not something that can be discovered once and for all, but is partly constituted by social norms and individual expectations, which will themselves change in response to government action.

Governance and Conceptual, Logical and Installed Architecture Alignment Using Work Products and Workflow

2009 ◽  
pp. 115-158
Author(s):  
Jay Ramanathan ◽  
Rajiv Ramnath
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Complex Systems ◽  
Service Improvement ◽  
Service Evolution

Governance and related alignment methods for the management of complex systems are introduced here to facilitate and better decision making. The goal here is to increase re-use and agility. We also show how EA governance can leverage technologies like middleware and workflow to enable service evolution. The methods and work products of the previous Chapter 2 along with the following EA layers guide continual service improvement.

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